Shins hurt when you play sports, run, or stand on your feet for a long period of time? Calves always feel tight even after you continually stretch them? Knees hurt? Hamstrings feel tight? Feeling under recovered? Back aches? Check your feet!
Yes I said check your feet. Our feet get no love, but there are 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments , around 20 muscles (depending on origin and insertion points) and over 7,000 nerve endings in each foot! Now imagine a high school soccer midfielder running/sprinting around 5 miles per game, those bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and nerve endings have to be resilient on every step to allow that athlete to perform optimally. One tight muscle or immobile joint can compromise the whole foot, ankle, knee, hips, back, and even shoulders.
I remember, about 10 years ago, at the NSCA Conference, I attended a presentation by Todd Wright ( Assistant Coach & Vice President of Player Performance LA Clippers). He was doing a presentation on his concept of the Vertical Core, but what I found most interesting was a case he presented about a basketball player with shoulder pain and limited arm swing during the gait cycle. It took some time for them to realize that the issue was actually stemming from his tarsal bones. This was an ah-ha moment in my career and I have been playing close attention to the feet ever since. It was then that I became very familiar with the Joint By Joint Approach coined by Gray Cook and Mike Boyle.
The Joint by Joint Approach states that the joints in our body should perform as either stable or mobile. The function of the joint is determined by its position in the body, working from the ankle up the joints will basically alternate between mobile and stable, this anatomical feature makes it so we can crawl, walk and run. The ankle should be a mobile joint, which would make the knee stable, the hip mobile, lumbar spine stable, thoracic spine mobile, cervical spine stable, shoulder mobile, elbow stable and wrist mobile. If each joint does not function within its role the rest of the musculo-skeletal system could be compromised. If the ankle and foot becomes immobile from wearing ice skates or high top sneakers, the knee and the muscles surrounding the knee may become misused and cause pain or dysfunction. The dysfunction of the knee can impact the hips, low back, rib cage, and even shoulders. Of course this a very oversimplified version of this approach but it illustrates the point that our feet can have a huge impact on our body. If you would like to learn more on this approach then you should grab yourself a copy of New Functional Training for Sports by Michael Boyle and Movement by Gray Cook.
The Joint by Joint Approach is just one concept that illustrates how are musculo-skeletal system works together. The concept of fascial lines and fascial meridians made popular by Tom Meyers is another reason we need to show our feet more love. I like to tell my athletes that fascia is like plastic wrap that interweaves through all of our muscles and tendons. When the fascia gets tight or dehydrated the muscles and tendons do as well. Fascia runs in certain lines or meridians throughout our body connecting our feet to our shoulders and opposites sides of the body. Again, this is a very simplified overview and Tom Meyers explains it best in his book Anatomy Trains. As you can see in the image below the fascia in out feet is connected to the fascia that connects to skull.
We now understand that the musculo-skeletal system can largely be impacted by the condition of our feet. But what most people don’t know is the feet also influence our nervous system. We can go as far as saying our feet are one of the most important sensory organs in our body, along with our hands. As mentioned above there are over 7,000 nerve endings in the foot, some of those nerve endings are branches of our nerves that innervated the pelvis and low back.
How To Take Care of Our Feet
- Get Used to Being Barefoot Again
The most simple way we can make our feet and whole body feel better is by getting used to being barefoot. All day long our feet are covered in shoes and socks which means one of the largest sensory organs are not able to function as a sensory organ. Our nerves need to be exposed to our physical environment in order to provide sensory feedback to rest of the body. We need to allow our feet to be feet. Have you ever watched a one year walk on rocks or gravel, it doesn’t even phase them, but an adult is tiptoeing around because they aren’t use to not wearing shoes. Every chance I get I take my daughters shoes off outside so she can “feel the ground.” Everyone should be doing the same. Everyday take a walk outside with no shoes (that is if the environment is safe for you to do so.) If you don’t have a safe place to walk around barefoot you can easily invest in a rock mat. Below are some great rock mat options from amazon, or you can easily make one with an old door mat, gorilla glue and some rocks. Rock mats are an amazing regeneration and recovery tool that very under utilized.
Rock Mats/Foot Massager
Balance 1 Foot Massage Folding Foam Mat Acupressure Massage Pebble Mat-Foot Pain Relief, Blue“>Balance 1 Foot Massage Folding Foam Mat
FitterFirst Cobblestone Walkway“>Fitter First Cobblestone Walkway
Japanese Rock Garden Foot Massager & Reflexology Board (Light Pink)“>Japanese Rock Garden Foot Massager
2. Self Myofascial Release/Massage
Trigger points can develop in the muscles of our feet, calves, and shins which can alter the functions of the surrounding joints, muscle and fascial lines. It doesn’t take much to massage our feet/lower legs and “calm down” the trigger points. The easiest and cheapest way to accomplish this is with a lacrosse ball, baseball, or even a golf ball(this only really works your feet.) Simply stand on the ball, one foot at a time, roll your foot back and forth with as much pressure as you can tolerate. If there is a spot that is restricted or more sensitive than others, spend a little extra time on those areas. To work on your calves and shins the lacrosse ball will work great as well as a regular foam roller.
3. Mobility and Foot Strengthening Exercise
There are several exercises you can perform to improve the mobility of foot and ankle in your feet. The most important thing is to work on where you are restricted the most. If you struggle with dorsiflexion (heels come up when you squat or calf tightness) work on kneeling ankle rocks.
When it comes to the actual foot, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and get your feet moving. Toe splaying is a great and underrated stretch. Trying doing this exercise everyday for 5 minutes or so and your feet will thank you. Also, try getting the metatarsals moving with some gentle pressure in the dorsal and planter directions(see the video below.)
There are several exercises you can do to strengthen your feet like towel crunches, and marble pick ups. But the easiest way to implement foot strengthen exercise into your workouts is by working out barefoot or with just socks, depending on where you workout. You will be surprised how hard your feet are working during your big lower body lifts. Another simple way to improve your foot strength is through performing more single leg strength exercises, these will improve not only your foot and ankle stability but also hip and core stability.
4. Footwear
Finally, proper footwear is essential when it comes to foot health. Working out in minimalist type footwear is the next best thing to being shoe-less. Reebok and New Balance make some of the best cross training shoes too date.
Now, I understand that as an athlete we have to wear the necessary shoes required by the sport. Cleats, high top sneakers, and skates can really restrict the foot and ankle as well as cause foot pain, calf tightness and shin pain. The best suggestion I can make for these scenarios is the insole company called SuperFeet. These insoles are great for any athlete or anyone that is on their feet all day. They make insoles for everyday users to high impact athletes and they are even doing 3D printed insoles made specifically for your feet. I referred these insoles to 100s of athletes who absolutely love them. So if you are an athlete shins splints, tight calves, knee pain or foot pain check out these insoles by SuperFeet you will not be disappointed.
